Orlando Pirates assistant coach Sergio Alemenara has offered insight into how Monnapule Saleng and Terrence Dzvukamanja fought their way back into the team.
Saleng has been touted as one of the players of the season due to his impressive form for the Buccaneers but only made his first start this season in match week 10, while Dzvukamanja has featured in six consecutive games after only 23 minutes of action prior within the 2022/23 campaign.
Both players scored in the 2-1 win over Maritzburg and alongside the return of attacking talisman Thembinkosi Lorch, it appears the system under Jose Riveiro is finally taking shape as they netted 13 goals in the last six outings.
“For us, all the players are important, Saleng and all the others trying to win their position in the team, when we train during the week, so for us, everyone is important, especially for the way we trying to play and the way we fit players in our game model,” Almenara said when asked about Saleng’s importance to the team.
When pressed about how the Riveiro system is progressing since taking charge at the start of the campaign, the Spaniard provided reasons to why certain players are becoming regulars and others are left of the periphery.
“It’s a process non-stop, so the season starts with a game model and you try to progress during the training sessions or drills, but at the end what we’re looking for is a progression of the game model during the entire season,” he explained.
“Even the game 30 is part of the progression of the game model, so we’re also using matches to progress, so players who are coming and going and players who are staying longer in the starting eleven, it’s because they are giving what we are looking for in the game model.
“Especially with their own profile, that they can give us what we’re looking for, so it’s a mixture.”
